


Deceptive God

by AvaCelt



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Abusive Friendships, Abusive Relationships, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst and Tragedy, Blood and Gore, Body Horror, Dark Fantasy, Darkfic, F/M, Gen, Horror, Hunter X Hunter Big Bang, Hunter x Hunter Big Bang 2017, HxHBB17, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Psychological Horror, This be a darkfic lads, Tragedy, Unhealthy Relationships, War, War Crimes, hxhbb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-10-27 21:25:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10817061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvaCelt/pseuds/AvaCelt
Summary: Every moment Kite and Neferpitou spend together is another moment they inch closer to each other’s throat. Every bruise is another mark of repentance, every kiss an act of treason against their respective races. As the war comes to an end, both species are reminded that even in death, there’s no difference between man and monster. [Neferkaito Dark Fantasy War AU]





	1. The Poor Man's Rose

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my [Hunter x Hunter Big Bang 2017 Fanart!!!](http://meeerleee.tumblr.com/post/161359022779/my-pieces-for-hxhbb17-thank-you-for-the-project) A million thanks to [Merle](http://meeerleee.tumblr.com/) for choosing my fic! Thank you for illustrating these scenes!! As for readers, please check out her other works! Please leave her comments and reblog her art!! 
> 
> Again, thank you [Merle](http://meeerleee.tumblr.com/) and thank you readers! This Big Bang was an amazing experience and I hope to do it again next year!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here be a tale of woe, lads. If you're sensitive to the warnings, I beg you, don't even attempt to read this. For the rest of y'all, don't forget to leave a note. :'>

“Killua... Kite's gonna come back, isn't he?”

Killua Zoldyck inhaled sharply, a low growl itching at the back of his throat. Screams threatened to crawl out of his mouth, and the slight tremor in his hand beckoned for him to send a sharp smack across Gon's face. The demons raged. They wanted to tear at whatever hurt the one he loved the most, but they couldn't kill _this_. Killing this would be the same as killing Gon, and Gon didn't have much left to lose. Gon had lost and Killua could do nothing but scream for him to come back.

But right now, the Zoldyck merely nodded with a plastic smile he'd picked up from Illumi over the years. He proffered a spoon full of soup to Gon's mouth and watched as the young man smiled warmly at him before taking the food. They continued that way for some time, Killua feeding Gon his midday meal while Gon questioned him about things he couldn't answer.

“Kite's gonna be OK,” Gon declared. His black hair was longer than him now and lay flat against his back and shoulders. The length of the locks obscured the stump of the arm he'd lost against the demon, the rest cascading against the hospital's pillows and comforter. “Just you wait. He'll be OK, and then we can all go home _together._ ”

Killua acknowledged his friends words with a smile. Gon was beautiful even without sanity. His long black hair wrapped around him like a dark halo, a poison in its own right. Outside, trumpets and cheers filtered through the air as humanity celebrated the genocide of nine hundred million Chimera Ants.

* * *

On the first day, a dead man awoke a land as lifeless as he was.

For Kite, it was much colder than he'd imagined. He found himself in a place built into the craggy surface of a mountain that overlooked a cold, dark sea. He supposed he was somewhere on the eastern border of the continent that housed almost a billion Chimera Ant demons. Their land was quite beautiful, once. Right now though, the sea was pitch black and the sky cloudy with ash from when the Poor Man's Rose had been dropped on unsuspecting citizens of the warrior nation. Kite figured it was night time, but he couldn't be sure.

He couldn't have been here for long. He'd been awake for almost an hour, and he remembered being snatched and beaten into unconsciousness just hours after the first bomb had been dropped on the warrior race's capital city. Meruem was dead, along with his family and every other Chimera Ant that called Lousofos home. He'd watched it happen. He was behind the war council that approved the attack, and he'd signed off as a witness to the agreement made between twelve separate nations.

He was sure the demons that lived in the farmlands were also dead. Ging had told him that the Association was under contract to cut off any and all support from the region until the remaining demons surrendered. He also knew about the famine that was already plaguing the lower regions of the demons' homeland, and that it wouldn't be long until that facilitated into a full-scale mass starvation that no humans would be likely to help alleviate. The land was dead, and so were its people. Kite remembered the contract agreeing to drop fourteen bombs, one per nation, and two from the Hunter Association. He counted the proverbial warheads every day leading up to their drop and detonation. He had to count them. He had to know.

The smell of decomposition and poisoned air created a miasma around Kite. He was half-clothed and half-starved, but he was alive. He wouldn't be for long, though. He could feel the poison begin to restrict his breathing while the radiation itched at his skin and crinkled the ends of his white hair. He wondered if this was punishment for willingly conscripting in the army before the war formally broke out. Before it all went to shit, he was merely a contract scientist, but within months of the discovery of Meruem's plan to invade Saherta and Kakin, Kite was the lead scientist in the Allied Army's intelligence division. He only ran experiments on corpses the soldiers carried back from their battles, but Kite could sense the lies even then. He didn't like to kill, but he had. He was a rogue as much as he was a citizen of humanity. It was nothing new in the mercenary circles. To be a living hunter was to be an amoral one. No one with a good heart willingly joined a firm with murderous intent as part of its bottom line.

And yet, Kite had joined the Hunter Association. He had joined the international organization because he was inspired by a man with no empathy for his own child, much less his mentee. He had joined because he was poor and hungry, but had a knack for learning that could be cultivated into something divine. He had joined because they gave him an opportunity when no else did, but at the cost of his soul.

Kite had given his soul, and now the the rot in the air suffocated his senses and took him back to the land where he was born and the sewers in which he lived for almost ten years until Ging Freecss found him. It was as if the Poor Man's Rose had snuffed out more than just the majority of the warrior race that lived on a large continent off the coast of the Mitene Union. It had snuffed out all hope- even the hope that Kite could barely hold on to.

“Human, human- pretty, witty human,” sang a voice from behind him. He swiveled his head and found nothing but rocks and ash.

“Human, human- itty, bitty human,” continued the voice that seemed closer. Kite looked around frantically, wondering if his death would be a long and torturous one. He didn't like pain; he didn't like death. He was a lone soul that wandered from country to country for odd contracts that affected almost no one in the long run, but he knew he'd sealed his fate when he told the Chairman that the Chimera Ants would never stop fighting. War is in their blood, he'd told him. War was all they knew.

“Human, human,” a dark voice whispered into his ear as a rough hand grabbed him by the back of his neck and slammed his face into the rocky earth. Kite cried out in pain while his eyes blurred with tears and mixed with the poisoned ash and earth that covered the ground. Sharp nails cut the flimsy cloth of his shirt to expose his back to the cold wind. It cackled as it continued on to cut through his pants, and finally his underwear. “Foul, _ugly_ human _._ ”

Kite lay helpless on the barren ground as the remainder of his clothes were ripped off his body. He lay on his chest with his face shoved into the ground for several minutes. When he felt his toes and fingers begin to go numb with the cold, he tried flexing them to keep them from losing any more sensation. He wished he'd gotten away with the movements, but he didn't. The heel of a boot smashed three of the fingers on his left hand, and he howled in pain until his vision began to darken.

“Get up,” it commanded.

Kite could hardly breathe, much less move. A single kick to the ribs sent him flying. His back smashed against a rock and he slid down the formation bloody and half-broken until he reached the ash-covered ground. Finally, he looked at the creature who'd stolen him from his home and brought him to this hell.

The black, double-breasted coat and trousers were a stark contrast against the pale skin of the Chimera Ant. He'd seen this one before. In fact, he _knew_ this one. It was the one Gon hadn't been able to put up a fight against, the one that ripped off the little boy's left arm and almost broke his back. This creature with the pale skin and white hair, this creature whose gold eyes had haunted his memories since the first time he came across it. It was supposed to be dead. Meruem was dead, wasn't he? The Chairman had brought back its head, along with the head of its human consort, the blind girl. They were all supposed to be dead. The Poor Man's Rose was supposed to end their reign once and for all and free Kite from his guilt. Instead, this thing had ripped off his clothes and left him bloody and covered in poisonous ash.

“A wager,” the creature purred. “If you win, I throw you on an automatic speedboat to the nearest human encampment. If _I_ win?” The creature gave him the brightest smile Kite had ever witnessed on a Chimera Ant. “I'll eat you while you're still alive. Deal, human?”

Kite coughed up a mouthful of blood. “You can't have a wager without rules,” he rasped, wiping his mouth with his uninjured hand.

The creature scratched its chin, it's cat-like ears twitching as it pondered his question. “The game goes on for as long as you're alive, which won't be for much long since the poison is in already in your lungs. Don't worry, though. It's in my lungs too.” The creature chuckled and played with a strand of its loose, white hair. “But I won't die as quickly as you since I'm at my peak while you're... not. Heheeeeee.” The teasing laugh turned into full blown cackles while Kite emitted another string of coughs.

“You have to find three items,” it said after Kite's coughs subsided. “The body of a dead Ant child, the body of a pregnant Ant, and the schoolbook of a student. Bring all three items to this very place, and I'll let you go. Now, you have the entire continent to yourself since most of my people are already dead, but choose your steps wisely.” It stretched its arms and did a twirl. “We only have so as long as our bodies allow us.”

“Why aren't you dead?” He asked sharply. “Your siblings and mother are dead.”

The creature stilled. “I know. I wasn't in Lousofos at the time, but it was under uncanny circumstances, really. I was on Kakin stealing medicine while your people dropped thirty-three Roses on my homeland. Funny how things work out.”

There were fourteen warheads; Kite had counted only fourteen. “You still came back... knowing the poison would kill you.”

It shrugged, twirling some more underneath the ash grey sky. “Death is obsolete when there's nothing left to lose and nothing left to gain. Might as well torture a pretty human before I expire for good. What say you, birdie?”

“My name is Kite,” he whispered.

“And you know who I am, so get started. Remember, human: three items, and you only have as long as your body will allow you. In the meantime, I'll be watching your every step! Play the game as honestly as you can, or else I'll start crushing more than just your fingers. Do not desecrate any of the bodies, or I'll stick a hot poker up your ass and skewer you alive before I eat you!”

Kite grimaced but nodded. “I'll play.”

The thing did a little curtsy before skipping to the edge of the cliff. Below were craggy rocks and roaring waves. “Until next time, pretty human.”

“Until next time,” he whispered to the creature who threw itself off the cliff and disappeared from Kite's sight, “Neferpitou.”

* * *

 

 

 


	2. The Poor Man's Dream

“We have to find him,” he implored to his father. “If we don't, Gon won't recover.”

Silva shook his head, giving his son a gaze filled with sorrowful pity. “No one asked you to play housemaid to a crazy boy, Killua. This was _your_ choice. If you can't reap the consequences, let him go.”

Killua fell to his knees and grabbed his father's feet. Ugly tears stained his pale white cheeks while snot and spit covered the lower half of his face. “ _Please._ The Association won't help! They won't send out a search party for one soldier, and they won't believe me when I say one of the Royal Guard did it! I know it was Neferpitou, Father, I swear! It survived the bombs!”

Silva looked down on him, pity and sorrow now transforming into hatred. “And how can you _possibly_ hope to defeat a Royal Guard? You didn't even finish your training with Illumi.” Silva flung him off his foo6 and snapped his fingers for Tsubone and Gotoh. They grabbed Killua by his shoulders and began dragging him out of the study.

“FATHER! I LOVE HIM!”

A mask of disgust permeated Silva's pinched features and he turned away from his howling son. He spied Kikyou, Kalluto, and Milluki watching fearfully from behind a pillar, but he paid them no mind. He couldn't let his feelings get in the way of the truth. Reality stated that Killua had lost. He'd gone and fallen in love with a crazy boy, and a dumb boy in love with a crazy boy was an awful combination for a family that lived off the murderous inclinations of the ruling class. Killua would never succeed, and Silva couldn't beat himself over it anymore. It was time to move on.

Outside, a group of Chimera Ants that had survived a Poor Man's Rose surrendered to an Allied camp. They gave up their freedom in exchange for medicine, not knowing that no medicine existed for Ants infected by radiation. The survivors' leader, Colt, never learned the truth. He hung himself from the rafters of his tent before anyone could tell him.

* * *

“Did you know my mother was pregnant?” Neferpitou asked, scaling the walls of the eighth house Kite had broken into. He was dressed in a floor-length smock he'd found in the third house, and soft shoes he'd found in the second. He'd covered his face with a wet cloth to keep from having to inhale the scent of rot and poison, and he tied his long blonde hair into a ponytail with some twine. The demon licked its hand and purred a while before scattering across the ceiling and rattling the light fixtures. Kite ignored the creature and focused on examining the bodies that lay purifying on the bed.

“Itty bitty baby,” the creature sang from up above. “Colt was really excited, you know. Always a hardass, but big brother wanted to be an older sibling to someone who wasn't already high on bloodlust. Pouf used to tease him that if Mother didn't raise him to be the commander of a battalion, he'd be plowing fields and raising thirteen children with a demon on some farm. That _really_ had Mother's blood boiling, so she never let suitors come near him. A shame. He would have been a _great_ father.”

Kite didn't want to think about Colt, the condor-like Chimera Ant that had agreed to convince a portion of the Chimera Ants into surrendering so that the Allied Army wouldn't damage parts of their fertile landscape. He couldn't bring himself to tell the white-haired creature scaling the ceiling that the Chairman and his lieutenants had betrayed its brother and dropped the Rose bombs on the farms anyway. Kite wasn't even sure if the Ant had survived, or if he'd died in Lousofos with the majority of his immediate family. Was he on the outskirts when it happened? Had he perished because of the poison the Roses spread throughout the land after they'd finished decimating the original contact points? Was Colt off in Meteor City or some other cesspool like Neferpitou was while the bombs ravaged most of their homeland?

“I always shrugged him off,” Neferpitou said to no one in particular. “He had a pretty good head on his shoulders, but very few saw him as someone other than the man who couldn't become King. Colt didn't _want_ to become King though. He just wanted to have children and run a farm.”

“Am I supposed to feel bad?” He rasped.

He could feel the creature before he could see it. The air from his lungs rushed out of his mouth as he felt his head get slammed against the headboard of the large bed. Pain and blood darkened his vision while he felt death come that much closer. Neferpitou's sharp nails raked long lines against the sharp curve of his chin before it yanked his hair and brought him upright and facing its ghastly visage.

“I'm trying to tell you a _story_ , human,” tutted the pale creature with the cat-like eyes. “Make an attempt to sound interested! Peggy always told us to tell the dying soldiers a good story while they slipped away. Mother thought it was bullshit, but Colt listened and we...” Neferpitou seemed dazed, like its soul had transported itself to a different plane. Even with blood, dust, and poison clouding his vision, Kite could see that the creature had left the room without finishing its sentence. On instinct, he reached out and cupped the creature's face in his ashen hands and squeezed its cheeks.

“Neferpitou?”

It blinked. “Huh.”

He let go of its face and rubbed a shaky hand across his features. The back of his hand came back with dark red blood, and he wondered how much time he had left and why there were more than fourteen Roses. The number rang in his head like a bell that never stopped tolling. He'd counted fourteen warheads, reviewed three international contracts, shook hands with Chimera Ants that had formally surrendered, told Gon to stay home, kill-

Kite blinked when he felt sharp nails scratch his scalp and come away with strands of brittle, white hair. “You're slacking, human,” it purred. “Where was I again? Ah! Colt and his farmer dreams.”

The creature began to babble once more, and he wondered why he was still here. He peered tiredly at the decomposing bodies of the Ants and then at the kitchen tools and cutlery he'd unearthed earlier to perform an impromptu autopsy. There was something inside one of the creatures he was supposed to find. What was it? Why were there more than fourteen bombs? Why hadn't he rejected Ging's offer when he was twelve?

“A pregnant Ant, human!” Neferpitou screeched from its perch on top of a dresser. “Not just a regular Ant! I want you to see what you killed! I want you to hold a dead fetus in your hands!”

Kite wondered if it remembered dissociating less than five minutes ago, the poison spreading throughout its body and into its head. Soon enough, they'd both be cataleptic and unable to move even an inch, and what was a rescue boat going to do then? Too much force, and Kite's bones would crumble to dust beneath his drying skinsuit, and he'd be dead before he ever saw another human being ever again.

Why were there more than fourteen Roses?

Kite shook himself out of his reverie and returned to his work. Yet, before he cut open the female ant, he whispered a small prayer he knew Neferpitou could hear from a mile away.

Then, he killed again.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a review! *3*


	3. The Poor Man's Eulogy

Even for a sixteen year old, Killua should have been at least partially cognizant about what was happening to him and Gon. Like months before, no true smile played on the lips of the boy who'd ruined him, and Killua wondered just what triggered that one mistake that practically destroyed his life. He drank his whiskey, sharp and mixed with lighter fluid, while Gon picked at his peas and dry chicken. Killua's face was set in grim satisfaction as the other struggled with the guilt inside of him. Killua smiled inwardly. He liked that the boy was suffering, like a rat trapped in a poisonous maze, and nothing made him happier than to see the boy erode from within.

He'd learned early in life that there was no sweeter revenge than the revenge that lasted the longest. He'd read and seen enough in his life to realize that, that was the answer to the eternal question. It wasn't prolonged violence that counted in the end, but prolonged suffering. He intended to inflict that on the man poking at his hospital food, hoped that the latter noticed just how much he planned to insult him in the coming weeks- and perhaps- for the rest of their lives. They sat and chatted, beads of sweat pouring down Gon's forehead and into his lashes. Killua was sure his eyes were stinging and that he was desperate to compose himself, but Killua knew there was nothing sweeter than this. As the latter dissolved from within, he would do his best to feed off his misery and smile airily at the consequences of past actions. Gon's remaining hand shook as he brought a glass of water to his lips, and Killua couldn't help but crack a smile and make a joke that forced the latter to produce a plastic grin. He could feel the latter try to contain himself, try to suppress the urge to vomit and pass out, and Killua was _absolutely_ fine with it.

Because Gon would suffer. He would suffer just as Killua had.

“Kite's not coming back, is he?” Gon asked meekly, large brown eyes brimming with fresh tears.

Except he wasn't what Killua remembered. Long ago, when Gon first lost his arm and walked towards the valley of the living dead, Killua carried the man in front of him to safety while a fever coursed throughput his body and an infection arose on the bloody stump where his torn arm used to be. He remembered Gon's eyelashes fluttering dazedly with the curses that escaped his lips, and the painful moaning that followed afterwards as the nurse at hand injected the medicine into the boy's body while Killua looked on from behind a glass partition. He remembered sitting with the boy after numerous surgeries, remembered pulling a blanket over his sick body and tucking him in well enough so that the cold air wouldn't seep in and freeze Gon to death from the outside in. He'd watched the latter sleep before drifting off himself and remembered waking up to the most beautiful smile he'd ever laid eyes on- a smile that one belonged to the love of his life.

“Kite's dead because of me!” Gon cried openly now, soaking his bone dry food with salty tears and snot. “He's dead because of me!”

A maniacal chuckle erupted from the back of Killua's throat and he snorted into the last dregs of his whiskey before flashing Gon a killer smile. “Yes, he is.”

* * *

After he'd ripped open the Ant and tore out the egg with the dead embryo, Kite passed out in a pile of viscera. When he came too, he wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he knew he needed to bathe quickly before he drowned in a pool of his own vomit. Neferpitou was gone and the sky outside was still dark with the remnants of the Rose's black cloud. Ash still fell from the sky as blackened snow, and poison still seeped into Kite's skin every second he spent in the hellscape.

He gathered the organs he'd removed from the female ant and restitched its stomach before wrapping both it and its child in curtains masquerading as shrouds. With whatever strength that was left in his body, he dragged the corpses to the surface where he first woke up, and dropped the bodies there. He could see the sea roar passionately with the dying howls of the sea creatures who'd been infected with the Rose's poison after the bomb had taken out the surface dwellers. He wanted to scream that he was sorry, that he had counted only fourteen, that only ten cities and several farms were supposed to be taken out, that it was supposed to be an end to a war, that it wasn't supposed to be a genocide.

But it was. He wondered where the contact point for this area's Rose was. Most of the houses were intact and there was some running water, but no one was alive. He hadn't even found a living rat. He closed his eyes and sucked in the poisonous air before turning away from the sea. He still had a child and a book to find. His skin was raw and peeling in some places, and his head pounded with a migraine that never subsided.

He spent an hour looking for an empty home. He finally found one in a network of caves that was fashioned as an apartment complex. The rooms on the first tier were all occupied by dead bodies, but one room on the second tier lay bare. He dragged himself into a tiny bathroom that spat clear water for the time being. He stripped himself of his bloody smock and slipped into the freezing water, submerging himself as far as he could.

In the water, he saw people he couldn't bring himself to love. He saw his teacher, a man who was barely ten years older than him, who had a heart made from stone. He saw his teacher's child, a child who latched onto him and refused to let go. He saw acquaintances, colleagues, employers- any and all people peppered throughout the vast landscape of his twenty-eight years on this planet. He remembered lovers he'd spent less than a day with, people who came in and out of his life like drones, people who were the same inside and out because he never took the chance to get to know them.

He broke the surface with harsh breaths, coughing up blood, bile, and water as he struggled to regain consciousness. He wondered why he wasn't dead yet, why the water in this apartment ran pristine clean while the people in the cave complex were dead and rotting. He looked at his decaying fingernails and his fragile hair and wondered if this was the divine punishment he read about in the books he collected from the trashcans of his homeland.

He heard something clatter outside the bathroom and sighed. The demon had found him, and he couldn't be sure if it wasn't _always_ just outside of his line of sight. He began to scrub himself with a bar of soap lay unused for days and then used his nails to scratch off slivers of the mound that he then moistened and applied to his flaking scalp. He drew blood in some places from the intense scrubbing, but kept at it. When he climbed out of the tub, he climbed out naked and hollow, like a wraith that had just raised itself from its watery grave. Kite found a small glass mirror and gazed upon his deteriorating appearance.

“You look good enough to eat,” purred the creature from a corner in the bathroom.

Kite suppressed a howl. “Staring at people while they bathe is a violation of their privacy. I'm sure your mother taught you better, Neferpitou.”

The thing hissed but didn't attack. Instead, it began to mewl. “Too pretty, human,” it lamented from a shadowy corner. “So pretty, you make me wanna cut your head off and play with your hair.”

Kite shivered as fear began to crawl up his spine. He lunged for the dirty smock, but Neferpitou was faster. He was left dazed as it dashed out the room with the dirty clothes. Moments later, the creature peeked into the room and mewled again. “You just cleaned up, human,” it tutted. “If you're gonna die, die with some dignity.”

With that, it scurried away and left Kite naked and alone.

* * *

“If you don't leave him, you'll end up killing him and yourself while you're at it.”

Killua shrugged. “We're gonna live and die like the rest of them.”

Biscuit Krueger rolled her eyes while her boyfriend snorted. “Don't be an idiot.” Biscuit's voice was sharp but melancholic.

“You think his aunt and grandmother will take care of him? He's crazy, Bisky.”

“That doesn't mean you have to torture him,” she snapped, flexing her thick muscles and balling her hands into tight fists. Hisoka swooned at the sound, while Killua looked on disgustedly as the clown lounged in his teacher's lap.

“I'm giving him a taste of his own medicine,” he stated firmly.

“You smell like gasoline and alcohol, little man,” Hisoka chuckled. “Darling, tell the boy to hide his flask before the general catches him drinking again.”

Killua bared his teeth, but one flick of Bisky's wrist, and everyone in the courtyard became silent. Bisky glared at Killua while he averted his gaze. “I've never met a Zoldyck who wanted to grow up to be an alcoholic.”

“New beginnings,” he deadpanned, though he felt ashamed he'd been caught so soon.

“Is Gon worth it, little man?” Hisoka purred from his seat in Bisky's lap.

“He's not,” Bisky answered for him. “Gon is sick and needs treatment; he doesn't need a lovesick manchild who can't even hold his liquor yet.”

Killua looked away, not bothering to answer his elders. He found that the skies here in Saherta were much bluer than back home. He wondered if Gon would ever get well enough to enjoy them again.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated! :D


	4. The Poor Man's Shame

The schoolbook wasn't hard to find, but a demon child? Kite couldn't quite figure out what to make of that. He'd ran autopsies and experiments on adult Chimera Ants, but his lab had never seen a child Ant before. He knew that when the creatures were born, more often than not, they were already equipped to walk, talk, and process things at a higher level than any other intelligent creature on the Lake Mobius. After all, Meruem had been named heir apparent before he was even conceived, and when he did break out of his egg, he was already prepared to conquer the other nations. Forty-five days- it had taken Meruem forty-five days to go from the youngest of the Queen's brood to king of an entire warrior race. He even caught himself a human girl who willingly agreed to be his consort, and as his first act of war, he wiped out half an entire nation of people by feeding them to his army.

Kite crinkled his nose and pulled the coat tighter around his body. The sky seemed to perpetually threaten rain, but only flakes of grey ash fell to earth. Kite held out his hand and let the flakes settle on his extended palm. When he closed it into a fist and crushed the flakes beneath his fingers, he felt a dull burning in his hand that only subsided after he rubbed off the ash on his coat and spit into his palm to wipe away the rest of the grime.

He knew he was dying faster than he expected. It couldn't have been more than a few days that he was here, but he already felt like he'd aged several decades. Even if he did manage to survive this ordeal, he knew that he would have to live with a shortened life lifespan. He'd likely develop cancer later in life, and die coughing up a wad of blood in some underfunded hospital in Yorknew. Unlike Gon, Ging, and the rest of the folks he'd left behind, Kite had nobody. He had money, several temporary residences, and a great resume that got him countless job offers around the world, but he didn't share his riches or his stories with anyone. He floated from job to job like a true mercenary, unable to build connections with people beyond the first few stages. He lived like he was still a vagrant, even though he wore clean clothes and cleaner shoes.

And he'd never, ever raised a child.

“How's the little one with the black hair, pretty human?” Neferpitou purred from a desiccated treetop. Kite gazed up to see the creature lazily flicking its tail back and forth while it nibbled on a human arm. “Healing well, I assume?” It perked up, licking the finger bones clean of meat and congealed blood. “His flesh was too stringy for my taste, so I gave it to my brothers. If you make it out of here, tell him to pick up a better diet. It'll do wonders for his glucose levels.”

He didn't finish watching it eat the limb and instead continued on his way through the desolate sea town whose citizens were all dead. He didn't quite know where the impact site of the bomb was, and deep down, he was starting to doubt it had even been dropped around here. Yet, there was the ash cloud, and the cave complex where he'd bathed and stolen fresh clothes from still ran clean water and housed edible food. He was confused. The ash cloud clearly marked that a Rose had been detonated, but where was the crater? The dusty remains of towns and trees? The bulbous cancers that sprouted on those mere miles away from the blast site? The eerie hum of the night after the populace had be wrestled into submission?

A string of coughs turned into harsh gulps of air. Kite didn't turn around and kept walking down the tree-bordered street, eyes trained ahead. Something hit the ground with a loud thump, and then he heard the tell-tale signs of a coughing fit that was due to transform into a panic-induced asthma attack at any moment. The creature behind him wheezed and punched the ground beneath their feet, sending tremors through the street. Kite sneered, tried to pay attention to what was ahead of him, but when he heard the creature's silent plea, he whipped around and ran.

Neferpitou had blood pooled around its lips. He gazed disgustedly down at the creature who wore the same garb he saw it wear the first time they made eye contact on the cliff. He briefly felt its pulse before pressing down on certain points on its chest to garner if it had broken anything after falling down to the ground.

“So gentle, human,” the creature rasped before giving him a sharp smile that bore bloodied teeth. “Makes me wanna keep you around forever.”

There was a longing to its voice that Kite pointedly ignored. Once he was satisfied with the cursory check, he glared into the creature's eyes. “Try not to die before I finish my mission,” he clipped scathingly.

“It's a _game,_ silly,” it whined petulantly.

“I don't like games,” he lied.

“That's not what you told me last time,” it purred dangerously sweet.

Suddenly, it's tail tightened around his hair and yanked his head backward. He yelped, a flash of pain burning into his eyes as he struggled to sit upright. Before he could maneuver himself away from the creature, a pair of sharp teeth latched onto his neck and drew blood. He swung, punching it straight in the middle of the chest, but succeeded in nothing other than crushing the fingers that the creature had already destroyed when they first met. Kite howled in pain while it cackled into his throat, running its sharp nails down the middle of his coat. The nails ripped off the buttons off the fabric to expose an over-sized tunic he'd found inside the empty cave. It did nothing to insulate heat, and could easily be replaced by a potato sack with holes for his arms and head. He took deep breaths and began to cry, the pain darkening his vision at such an astronomical rate that he almost blacked out on sight.

“Oh, shucks,” it clucked in his ear, licking gentle stripes of saliva against his pale face, drinking in his salty tears and the grey ash of the Rose cloud. “I was just playing around.” It pressed his head against its flat chest, patting his sore back and peppering kisses across his scalp. He felt like throwing up and would have if he hadn't felt the gentle lull of the creature's heartbeat begin to put him to sleep. The skin where it licked him hummed with warmth, and Kite felt the telltale signs of its healing factor patch up the bruised and pale skin where its tongue touched his flesh.

“I'm not like you,” he whispered hoarsely, staring at the desolate street that was blanketed by the grey ash of the death cloud.

“I didn't _ask_ you to be me,” it said honestly. “You wanted to win, human. I gave you a chance.”

“You tried to kill my student.” He began to sob earnestly, tears bleeding into the ash caked on his face. “You almost _killed_ me _._ ”

He felt it nuzzle his head and scratch his scalp, soothing the pains in his chest with its gentle ministrations, as if it was something more than Kite's enemy. It didn't counter his statements and Kite found that he had no more strength left to argue.

He felt death rear its ugly head, but before he could succumb to its melancholy tune, Neferpitou bit into his shoulder one more time.

* * *

Killua dreamed of water.

Instead of standing on the edge of a mountain, he was on one of the many beaches on the coast of his homeland. It was late spring since the water soaking his feet was neither too warm nor too cold, and the sun shining down on him was rich and vibrant, but not so forceful that he had to shield his eyes with sunglasses. He was wearing shorts cut off at the knees and a loose button-up shirt that belonged to Illumi when he was a gangly teen.

But that was the least of the beauty. He felt someone smile at him from behind. Suddenly, the scene changed and there was a bottle of wine in Killia's hand and he was seated on a blanket that was much softer than any of the clothes Killua had ever owned in his life. He was perfectly content. There were barbequed ribs on a plate in front to him and then there was Ikalgo with his determined expression and half-glass of beer, while Bisky splashed water at her clown lover who fluttered about in the nude. Killua found that he wasn't even perturbed. These were the folks that created his world. With all their eccentricities, there was a certain measure of warmth and kindness attached to their personae.

But when he turned his head to the side, he stared into the darkest pair of eyes and brightest smile he'd ever laid eyes on. The person these eyes and smile belonged to pushed the barbeque into his hands and took a swig from his wine bottle before putting it down and barreling towards Bisky and Hisoka. He dragged Ikalgo with him to tackle the blonde woman who cracked her knuckles and got into a fighting position. A smile bloomed on Killua's lips at the hilarity of it all.

But that smile soon faded as Killua realized that the water and the people playing in it were drifting farther and farther away away from him, like an island at sunset that disappeared beneath the water. He threw off the uneaten plate of barbequed meat before pushing himself to his feet. By the time he was running, they were already swallowed by the eclipse that sucked in all the warmth and light left in his life. In the end, it was only him and the bearer of the dark eyes and the equally dark smile.

“It must be nice to be you, Killua,” Gon said casually. “All calm and composed, since none of this affects you.”

The eclipse that swallowed his teacher and his friends turned into the hellscape where Gon lost his arm to Neferpitou. Killua fell to his knees as he watched the feline creature tear off Gon's arm again before snatching Kite and running off into the woods of the hermit kingdom. Before, Killua had reached out. Before, he'd dragged Gon kicking and screaming from the woods as he bore his teeth and hurled profanities at Killua for being the reason why _his_ teacher was dead. Before, he didn't pay attention to the demon or Gon's teacher as much as he should have. Before, there was only Gon. There would only ever _be_ Gon, so he had to get him.

But this time, he stared into the gold eyes of the monster who'd torn off his beloved's arm and stolen Kite from Gon. It bore no hatred for the jet-black haired sixteen year old, just like it bore no hatred for Killua.

But it bore something for Kite. Killua squinted, watching as the memory replayed itself as a distorted dream. Neferpitou cut down Gon, Killua was too afraid to move, Kite's scythe clashed against Neferpitou's claws, and Kite's eyes-

Killua blinked once, the truth lying itself bare at his feet while Gon bled to death and Neferpitou cackled. The dark side of the sun was an unholy red; the eclipse that stole the color from his lips bled black.

Kite was crying, caressing one of the demon's hands after it had just ripped off his student's hand.

And Killua awoke screaming.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more chapters to go!! Hunter x Hunter Big Bang reveal day will align with the posting of the final chapter!! Follow [hxhbb17](https://hxhbb17.tumblr.com/) for more information!! And finally, don't forget to leave your weary author a lovely review! *3*


	5. The Poor Man's Deception

Kite didn't dream for the two days he slept inside the cave carved into the mountain. He awoke to Neferpitou drawing circles into his chest with the pad of its index finger, careful not to scratch the exposed skin. He felt equal rushes of hatred and relief. The creature peered into his eyes once he was fully awake, looking at him as if he was some sort of pet it had picked up off the ground and was now nursing back to health so that it could train and keep him around forever.

But wasn't that what happened last time when he so foolishly ventured into conquered territory, thinking he would escape with his skin intact? Didn't he think the demons wouldn't notice? Hadn't he overlooked the facts of the case and fallen short in the end?

Hadn't he spread his legs for a monster that brought him to peak ecstasy one night, only to try and kill it the next because he was nothing more than a contract Hunter with a history for experimenting with things he couldn't understand, while discovering new things before anyone else could? After all, who else could say they'd been thoroughly fucked by a Chimera Ant demon, and by a royal guard no less?

He remembered Gon's torn arm and Killua's shocked expression. He remembered the lips he'd once kissed bring themselves to the torn flesh of his student's arm, biting into the meat before giving him a vicious smile. He remembered stalking that creature for weeks, tailing it across the hermit kingdom before deciding to offer a false peace treaty so he could get information out of it to pass on to his superiors. When had he figured out that the thing preferred tall, lanky humans with long hair it could pull on while it fucked the human from behind? When had he figured out that it was susceptible to charm and wit, like all the idiot soldiers in the world? When had he figured out that the creature cared for Komugi and took care of the girl when no other Chimera Ant could bear to be around the king's human consort?

When had he maneuvered the systems to drop the Roses on the day Neferpitou had left on a private ship to steal medicine for the blind girl? When had he convinced himself that it was a strategic move and not a personal one? When had he stopped visiting Gon after he slipped into the coma? When had he become a monster?

“Did you have a good dream?” It asked softly, gently playing with a strand of his brittle hair. Kite didn't answer. He stared at the cave's ceiling and counted four lanterns hanging from stalactites. Neferpitou huffed. “At least _pretend_ to sound interested.”

He touched the patch on his neck. The bite marks would leave scars after the initial pain faded, and every now and then, Kite would feel a dull throb- if he managed to survive. There was no fever, and he was deathly afraid of how bad he _didn't_ feel even though he'd suffered from direct radiation poisoning over the course of several days.

“It obliterated an island,” Neferpitou said plainly. “It was already gone by the time I brought you here. The island was used to store chemical weapons. When the Rose was dropped, the chemicals and the radiation reacted to create a miasma that killed everything in a fifty mile radius. That's why there's no impact site.”

Kite thought about the fourteen warheads he'd counted in the sub-basement of the stronghold he worked in. He only had fourteen. There were only supposed to be fourteen.

“I couldn't find Colt,” it ground into his neck, rage bubbling out of its throat at a deadly soft pace. Its nails pierced the frail skin of his chest and drew blood. “I couldn't find Peggy. Meruem and Komugi's heads were gone. Everyone else was turned into dust, but Meruem and Komugi's bodies were fine. But their heads- where did you take them, human?”

“Commander General Netero needed them for proof of death,” Kite deadpanned, staring at the stalactites. “Otherwise the other nations would have sanctioned another round of bombs.”

“They dropped thirty-three,” it growled, wrapping its fingers around his throat. He didn't even bother pushing them away. “How many more?”

“Ten,” Kite lied. They never told him how many they were set to drop if the remaining demons didn't surrender after the initial blasts. He realized that he was probably lied to about the original thirty-three because they needed a cover. No one could prove the nations had dropped any more than fourteen because there wouldn't be anyone _alive_ to tell the other nations. But Neferpitou had lived, just as he'd hoped, and it had witnessed thirty-three.

Thirty-three bombs for a continent that housed over a billion Chimera Ant demons.

“Everybody's dead,” Neferpitou whispered, loosening its hold on Kite's neck. “Do you want to see my baby sister, human? She was supposed to be born on Meruem's fiftieth day. She's actually his twin, but Colt told Mother to let her gestate a bit longer because Meruem had taken most of the nutrients when he was in the womb with her.”

Kite watched as Neferpitou climbed up the cave wall and stuck its hand in a small gap in the structure. It brought out a cloudy glass jar. At first glance, it looked like it was holding soup, but when Neferpitou brought it closer, he saw that it was a baby Ant submerged in a viscous liquid.

“Kite wanted to name her Reina,” Neferpitou said fondly, “but she died as soon as she was born. Colt almost lost it, but I stole the body before Mother could bury it with the dogs. See?” It proffered the cloudy jar so he could get a closer look. Kite gazed at a dead Ant child the size of his thumb. It was so tiny he could laugh.

“I win,” he rasped, tears leaking from his eyes as he gazed up at the preserved corpse. “A pregnant Ant, a notebook, and a child- I win, Pitou.”

Neferpitou sighed, taking back the jar and holding it close to its chest. “I know, human,” it said morosely. “I know.”

* * *

“Kite was sent there on a recon mission,” Hisoka drawled as they waited for the train that would take them far, far away from everything. “They were supposed to hire Chrollo, but he decided to join Meteor City's vanguard when the invasion began. They had very few experts who could track and disguise themselves in plain sight, and in the end, Mr. Doctor himself volunteered and the rest was history.”

“He knew the demon,” Killua deadpanned.

Hisoka shrugged. “Of course he did. I wouldn't be surprised if he slept with it too. When Zazan invaded Meteor City, she raped four hundred men and women before the Phantom Troupe slaughtered her and her entire army. Their taste for flesh is far more complex than humans'.”

“Gon will hunt them down,” Killua said impassively. “He went berserk on a refugee camp and killed fourteen Chimera Ants before Pariston Hill put him down with a tranquilizer gun. One of the Ants spit in his face and told him Kite was dead after Gon questioned it about the royal guard. He tore its head off and made another one of the Ants eat it before killing thirteen more.”

“Ging Freecss and Netero vouched for his sanity before the war council,” Hisoka nodded, a petty smile gracing his features. “They put him on community service for a month. He'll sweep pubs and cook hot meals for reveling soldiers while the remaining Chimera Ants get bludgeoned to death in their sleep for surviving the Poor Man's Roses.”

Killua wanted to tell the clown he was right, but moments later, Ikalgo and Meleoron bustled over with ice cream cones and cans of sweetened tea. Bisky came up behind them with their luggage and the tickets for their first class cabin. That cutthroat fear that always lurked on the subaltern of Killua's mind attacked him with full force. He was struck dumb as he realized that Ikalgo and Meleoron would be next... and then Palm, and finally, all the others.

“No one told him Palm was turned,” Killua said hollowly.

“She better hide,” Hisoka clucked. “The man that came out of that battle with the royal guard isn't the man she fell in love with.”

“I have to tell her,” he griped.

“No, you don't,” Hisoka drawled, stretching his limbs. “Palm will be fine. She's not the same woman she used to be.”

“What are you numbskulls chatting about?” Bisky griped, dropping the luggage at their feet and fanning her sweat-soaked face with the tickets.

“Our wedding,” Hisoka beamed, rising up from his seat to kiss his girlfriend on the cheek. He got on the tips of his toes, and only made it to her shoulder. Only after he frowned did she bend over and let him peck her on the cheek.

“Disgusting,” Killua deadpanned and Bisky whacked him on the head with the tickets. Some yards away, a train began to whistle.

“Time to book it, gents,” Bisky called. “You ready, Zoldyck?”

Killua thought about the man he loved and the family that he hated. He thought about the sister he'd left alone for years but finally reconnected with right before the war broke out. He thought about the lives that he'd touched and the ones that he took, and tried to remember if he was as good as others thought him to be. He remembered Gon's smile the first day they shook hands, and wondered if that smile, too, was a fake like everything else. Why not hate him even more? Why not let him drown in his own rage while his teacher ran off with the only surviving Chimera Ant that held any semblance of power? Gon Freecss deserved it more than anyone else in the world. Friends didn't make it their mission to hurt other friends in the name of their own selfish desires, and yet-

Gon was more human than Killua could ever be, and it was a reality he had to live with. Gon didn't love him the way he loved him, and it was a reality Killua had to swallow in order to survive. Killua was a killer and an abuser, and these were histories he had to come to terms with and grow out of if he wanted to protect Ikalgo, Alluka, and the rest of his friends from the cruelty of the world he lived in. He wanted his friends to live.

Killua wanted to live.

“I'm ready when you're ready,” he said softly. “Hey, Bisky?”

“Hmm?” She raised an eyebrow as Killua smiled.

“Alluka likes layers. Teach her how to layer appropriately. Cardigans over dresses, socks over stockings- whatever she likes.”

Bisky gave him a sharp smile. “Leave it to me, kid.”

And he did. Killua got off the bench and stretched his limbs as the train rolled to a stop.

“Ice cream, Killua?” Ikalgo asked, holding out a cone. Killua smiled fondly and took the cone before gesturing towards their transport to a new world.

“Shall we?” Hisoka purred.

The others nodded and picked up the luggage. When the doors to the train opened, they bustled in with smiles and mindless chatter. When they were seated, Hisoka insisted he sit in Bisky's lap while Killua made gagging noises next to Meleoron who'd already fallen asleep. Ikalgo chuckled and whipped out his phone to tell his acquaintances that they were leaving.

When the train started to move, Killua finally began to breathe again.

* * *

“Run, Pitou.” He said weakly. “Go to the Dark Continent. They'll never find you there.”

It shook its head while it injected the medicine into his body. After it was finished, it threw the needle in a plastic bag and began placing the clothes and keys to the speedboat next to Kite's placid figure. “No where to run to if there's no one waiting for me,” it said. “It's time for me to go home, human.”

* * *

 

“They tracked down the royal guard,” Ging said blankly.

“Where are they?”

“In what used to be a bustling tourist town. Netero dropped a Poor Man's Rose on one of the adjoining islands and the poison killed off the surrounding citizens. Knov only detected two living life forms.”

Gon nodded. He absently touched the stump where his arm used to be and wondered if Killua was worried about where he'd disappeared off to. He promised himself that he'd buy his friend better whiskey when they saw each other next time. He knew he hadn't been a good friend in a long time, but he was determined to change things. As soon as he saved Kite, things would go back to normal.

Ging didn't tell his estranged son that he'd been crying unknowingly the entire time.

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Hunter x Hunter Big Bang 2017 is to be revealed next week, June 1st! Join us at [hxhbb17](https://hxhbb17.tumblr.com/)!!


	6. The Poor Man's Love

Kite undid the buttons on Neferpitou's jacket and kissed the skin of its exposed skin with urgency. He knew that whatever disgust he had for the creature was actually aimed at himself. He'd been the ugly one in the story, the monster that helped unleash fourteen bombs on unsuspecting civilians while he made sure the object of his unholy affections was away from the foray. Neferpitou flicked its tail and played with locks of his hair while he got on his knees. He thought about the pit in heart where he bundled up all of his emotions and left them to rot. He pulled down its trousers and inhaled the musky scent of a creature that could easily crush his head. In any other world, Kite would be dead. Kite _should_ be dead. He'd done nothing to deserve to live, and yet here he was- cured of radiation and chemical poisoning while Neferpitou looked down on him with hollow, gold eyes. He kissed its navel and stroked its hard length. Then, he took the cock into his mouth.

He sucked and stroked like the monster that he was, eager to please a creature who no longer existed on his plane. Neferpitou's tail stroked the naked skin of his back and pushed hair away from his eyes as he bobbed his head up and down. His toes curled as his own arousal began to bay for release, and when Neferpitou came in his mouth in short spurts, Kite hoped that whatever poison that was seeping through its body had transferred into him as well. He swallowed the thick cum and gazed up at the being that understood him better than anyone else. He needed it to know that it wouldn't go alone- he needed _Neferpitou_ to know that he knew.

He understood.

He rose to his feet and kissed its lips. It was still a head shorter than him, but its grip was stronger than any being Kite had ever met. He tried to fill the pit in his heart with the one good thing he'd managed to find in a war he should never have gotten involved in. Neferpitou picked him up by the buttocks and wrapped his long legs around its thin waist. He moaned as he felt one of its claws circle the puckered skin of his ass, and cried out in pain when it plunged inside of him. One claw became two, and two became three while pain and pleasure coursed through his body as the claws scissored him open and ripped open muscle and skin that would soon become infected by poison while he was fucked up the ass.

He welcomed death. He'd always been the quiet type, the kind to keep to himself until it was time to wipe someone out. He only welcomed animals into his life because they couldn't talk to him. They couldn't tell him he was a monster, that his poor upbringing created a pit in his chest that was almost like a black hole. He didn't know how to make friends, or how to keep people around. He only knew how to set goals and reach them, and at the end of the day, he slept naked and alone like the ghost that he was.

Neferpitou laid him down on the hay covering the cave's floor and placed his thighs on its shoulder. His skin burned from the pain of torn tissue and over-stretched muscle, but he beckoned the demon to come closer. Neferpitou positioned itself in between his legs and stared deep into his eyes. He hoped it saw _something_ useful. Suddenly, its thick length pushed into him and he gasped, eyes still trained on the gold eyes of the monster who'd make his last day on earth a pleasurable one. It moved slow at first, shallow thrusts barely pleasurable against the broken skin, but once it'd placed itself wholly inside of him, he closed his eyes and moaned its name.

“Tell me, human,” it mewled affectionately, letting its sharp claws sink into the pallid skin of his thighs as it quickened its pace. “Why did you seek me? Pouf would have easily spread his legs for you.” Kite bit his lip and opened his eyes to the creature's lustful gaze. One of its claws easily tore off the patch on his neck, exposing the bite mark that was permanently etched into his skin. Neferpitou's lips broke into a cruel smile. “Was it because of my dainty looks? Did you think I was a woman when you saw me from afar?”

Kite shook his head. He grabbed his dick and began stroking himself to climax while Pitou bent him in half and fucked him mercilessly. When he felt his arousal peak, it slapped his hand away from his cock and slipped out of his ass. He found himself flipped over and positioned with his face down and his ass up in the air. The cold air sent shivers up his spine, but when he felt a mouth close over his wounded hole, he balked before succumbing to its ministrations.

He stroked himself furiously as Neferpitou's saliva healed the wounds it had created with its claws. He felt a warmth emanate from the tips of his toes all the way up to his chest, and he came with a guttural moan as Neferpitou's tongue worked itself lazily inside of him. Harried and spent, he groaned as the creature continued to work its tongue until the last of the wounds had disappeared. Once it was finished, it pressed chaste kisses up his spine before positioning it's cock against his ass again. It sank inside of him once again, an airy laugh echoing through the cave as Kite shuddered against the heat.

It took a few minutes of leveled thrusting before his cock came back to life. Once the tingling sensation pooled into his stomach again, he began pushing earnestly against the thick cock. He picked himself up and got on his hands and knees. The hay did nothing to stop the chafing on his kneecaps, but the feeling of Neferpitou sinking into the deepest corners of his soul was too tempting for him resist. Its hands had a firm grip on his hips, claws digging into his skin as the pleasure heightened his senses.

A hand grabbed locks of his thick white hair and pulled viciously as the thrusts quickened. The sound of skin slapping against skin brought peace to Kite's heart and his loins as he verged on another climax. Neferpitou licked a a stripe of saliva up his spine as it worked its dick deep inside Kite. Kite curled his toes and came again while Neferpitou continued to thrust. He collapsed on his face, ass still in the air as Neferpitou's growls became savage and its thrusts more brutal. He clutched at the hay underneath him and whimpered while the creature pushed and pushed and pushed, bruising and cutting and scratching the skin of his ass and back while he whimpered into the limp straw.

“Look at me,” it grunted into his skin. “I want you to remember me even when I'm dead, human. I want you to remember the only demon that ever gave you comfort in your entire, miserable little existence.”

Kite tiredly turned his head to look at the creature whose eyes were mad with power, but softened almost instantly when they made contact with Kite's melancholic gaze. Neferpitou slipped out and pushed Kite onto his back. Its cock still throbbing for release, the demon slipped again and thrust deeply and earnestly as it looked down on Kite's spent form.

Being what he was, he brought Neferpitou's face as close as he could and kissed its bloodied lips. Why hadn't he cherished these lips the first time they kissed? The first time when he had caught the Royal Guard lurking about, it had been playing with cats and facing off against a bunch of puppies outside of a military station its brother had conquered in mere days. He was supposed to tranquilize the creature, but he watched in amusement instead while it chased a puppy around a tree. Once the pups ran off, he watched as the creature produced a medical kit from its pocket and began operating on a stray cat that had one of its legs injured from a brawl with a larger animal. The royal guard was a doctor. The most dangerous royal guard wasn't even a vanguard soldier- it was the king's doctor.

And it loved animals. After it finished the surgery, it cradled the animal in its arms and walked back into the station while Kite watched from his spot in the thicket of leaves. Even then, he knew that he'd found something special. Even then, he knew he was likely to destroy it like he did everything else in his life.

Neferpitou finally reached its peak. Kite's shaky fingers squeezed its plump buttocks and urged it to thrust hard and fast, just one more time. Neferpitou did and then came with a hiss, spilling inside of him before slipping out and collapsing on top of Kite's sweaty and bruised figure. His bleary eyes looked up at the lanterns hanging from the stalactites and wondered why it was such a fitting ambiance for two creatures who should have mutually destroyed each other a long time ago.

“Pitou?” Neferpitou didn't answer, nor did it move. “Pitou?” He croaked, tears spilling from his eyes. “You have to take the boat to the Dark Continent. You have to lea-”

He felt a warm sensation on his chest and looked down to see dead gold eyes and blood streaming from the creature's mouth at an earnest pace. Kite picked himself up to a sitting position and cradled the naked body to his chest. “Pitou? Pitou, wake up!”

He slapped its cheeks, pinched its skin, urged it to wake up and run because the poison would kill it. There was no cure for radiation sickness if you were a Chimera Ant. There was no cure, no cure, no cu-

“Pitou?” He asked one more time. His fingers fluttered across its pallid cheeks. “Pitou?”

It felt like the world was ending, and maybe, just maybe, it already had.

* * *

 

“Gon, don't.” Ging warned. “It's dead; Kite's fine. You wait on the boat.”

Gon shook his head. “I'm bringing him back, Ging.”

“He's _fine_ ,” Ging griped. “Go wait on the goddamn boat!”

Gon ignored him and climbed up the mountain. Ging screamed for him to come back, but he ignored him. Inside the cave, the sixteen year old found a white-haired angel cradling the body of a demon. Kite rocked its placid form back and forth, whispering something into its ears. It was dead. Its eyes were a dull gold, and its mouth was still expelling blood. He supposed the poison was too much for it. Good, he thought.

Gon spied cuts and bruises on his teacher, and finally, a prominent bite mark on his neck. Even he could smell the semen and sweat in the air, and suddenly, a rage bloomed in his heart, a rage so potent that Ging scrambled into the cave and screamed for his son to stop, stop, STOP.

Kite's arms were empty. “Pitou?” He asked no one in particular.

Gon held the creature's head in his only hand, its body crushed against the cave wall from the impact of Gon's kicks. Gon gave Kite a bright smile. “Don't worry, Kite. I'll always protect you.”

Kite watched with hollow eyes as Gon dropped Neferpitou's severed head on the cave floor and crushed it beneath the heel of his black boot. Ging rubbed his eyes and threw an emergency blanket over Kite's naked form, but Kite just stared at the bloody mass that used to be Neferpitou, doctor to the royal family, sibling to the the other guards, and a creature that liked to keep the king's human consort company while the king was busy. He looked at his empty arms and saw nothing that proved that he just lain with his lover.

And then, Kite screamed.

* * *

 

Killua awoke from his nap with a startle. Everyone else in the cabin was fast asleep. Bisky was snoring with a pert Hisoka tucked into her arms, while Ikalgo and Meleoron had fallen asleep next to each other. Killua felt a dark presence retreat once and for all, and gazed out the window of his train at the plain blue sea.

His phone pinged and he looked at the text Alluka sent him.

_Can't wait to see you guys! Zushi got us tickets to the carnival! (_ _ﾉ◕ヮ◕_ _)_ _ﾉ_ _*:_ _･ﾟ✧_

He smiled fondly and shot her a thumbs up. Then, he tucked his phone back into his pocket and went back to sleep. This time, he dreamed of stars.

* * *

 

“Where are Killua and Kite?” Gon asked curiously.

“They're taking separate vacations,” Ging said earnestly. “Take your medication, Gon.”

Gon nodded, swallowing the assorted pills with a cup of clear water. When he felt drowsy, Ging tucked him in. “They'll be back, right?”

“Yeah,” Ging lied.

Outside, Mito wiped away her tears with the back of her apron and went back to work.

* * *

In a land far away, a war ended and a continent was laid to waste. Some survived, but most didn't. No one would remember their history because no one cared.

Kite buried Reina near the sea. Then, he cut his hair and dyed the short locks deep red. He bought a sword and a new set of clothes, with shoes that were both comfortable and long-lasting. He bought passage to a new world, a world far, far away. He got on a boat and took to the horizon, the eyes of a demon etched into his memories.

So dawn goes down to day, nothing gold can stay.

 

* * *

Fin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'So dawn goes down to day, nothing gold can stay' is from Robert Frost's poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay."
> 
> Thank you for reading, y'all! Please don't forget to drop a note!!


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